Mega Ball—176 Million to 1?

The government has always believed the theory that the lottery would be a tax on the stupid.This week the government is putting its theory to the test and proving it to be infallible.The government is telling its true believers that the odds of winning the Mega Millions Jackpot is 176 million to one.A participant must match 5 numbers pulled from a group of 56 along with a Mega Ball pulled from a group of 46.The minute the first ball is pulled the group goes down to 55 balls then to 54 and so on.

Let’s put their theory to the test:

Below is the correct math and simple truth:

The mathematics of finding the true odds of choosing the numbers to win the Mega Ball Jackpot look exactly like this:56 x 55 x 54 x 53 x 52 x 46; so lets do the math by working it out:

The reason the odds are lower is because all tickets are boxed bets—it doesn’t matter if your favorite numbers are chosen 1st or 5th—rather than in a straight play.That number has to be divided exactly in a boxed manner—5 x 4 x 3 x 2 x 1 or 120

210,853,843,200 divided by 120 equaling 175,711,536

Once again the government was telling the truth – always trust the government!

“Play on America!”

Ben Matar

21,853,843,200, not 210 billion. If you divide that number by 120 it would still be over 1 billion.

EricbP

Recent lottery mottos that have been abandoned:
You’ve got to be in it to win it. You never Know! The worst motto ever was “you gotta love the odds”. The odds are horrible – what’s to love?